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Claim: City officials created a “crossing guard burqa” uniform in order to avoid a discrimination lawsuit.

FALSE

Example:[Collected via e-mail, December 2015]

I can’t believe this is true?

Origins: In December 2015, a photograph purportedly showing a Muslim woman in a special burqa-inspired crossing guard outfit circulated online along with the claim that the outfit was created by a unidentified city government official in order to deter an impending discrimination lawsuit:

A Muslim dressed in a burka applied for a crossing guard position. She didn’t want the job, her intentions were to sue the city “as she was positive that they would not allow her to wear a burka on the job”. A smart government official gave her the job, but he came up with the most unique uniform for her. The reflective material is a standard for all traffic guards in that city. She quit the job at the end of day one.

The above-displayed crossing guard outfit, however, was not created by a city official in order to avoid a discrimination lawsuit. Rather, the outfit was created by Italian artist Marco Biagini as a piece of performance art entitled “High Visibility Burqa.” The photograph of it was likely taken in May 2015, during the Biennale of Arts in Venice:

A model wears a dress called ‘High Visibility Burqa’ during a performance of Italian artist Marco Biagini during the 56th Biennale of Arts in Venice, Italy, 08 May 2015.